Perfect Monster
by OoOnyxHeartoO
Summary: Reno finds his childhood friend unconscious in the middle of nowhere, but she's changed. How much, and why is she so different? OC's P.O.V. Thanks to my cousin for edits. Still in the works, changes will be made. Reno x OC
1. Chapter 1: Waking up

Black, darkness.

No light, sound or smell, but it felt like I had just woken up. Strange, because I couldn't remember anything; just black, like an obsidian wall. After that, flashes. A face, red hair, shouting. Nothing connected though. I drifted between what I thought must have been paralysis and unconsciousness. Another flash, this time a face framed by black hair, eyes wide with worry and shock. I remember wondering who she was, and where _I_ was, and then I drifted back into unconsciousness.

When I woke up, I screamed in pain. It felt like something was eating away at the skin on my back and wrists. I vaguely remember someone yelling from the floor below me, and footsteps running down the hall. By the time the door opened, I had already passed out again.

I woke up on my stomach, my back uncovered. I tried to turn over, but a warm hand stopped me.

"Yo, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Male voice, smooth, but rough at the same time. I had no idea who he was, so I asked the two most obvious questions.

"Why, who are you, and where am I?" Okay, make that three.

"Umm, okay, you're on your stomach because you have a psychotic case of Geostigma, so the less pressure the better. You also have no top on." He said it like it was nothing, but it sure had an effect on me. I bolted upright, covering my chest with the blanket.

"Holy! That was fast, yo." He looked shocked; good.

"Where am I?" I demanded, looking around.

I was in a small room, with white walls and one window. There was a mirror on the wall next to the one bed, which I was in. I noticed from the corner of my eye that the guy was slouched against the wall across the room. I make a point of not looking directly at people until I know their name.

"You're in one of the extra rooms above 7th Heaven. You're in Midgar." Okay, Midgar, I knew this place. I recognized it.

I was distracted. "7th Heaven… You mean Tifa LockHeart's place?" I knew Tifa from a long time ago. We used to be inseparable, always looking out for each other, but then something happened. I just couldn't remember what.

"Umm, yeah," The guy said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "She found you a couple days ago. Said something you being childhood friends?"

"Not exactly childhood, but yeah, I guess. You still haven't told me your name, though."

"It's Reno." He stated. I looked him straight in the eye. _Reno_. I recognized him, but the last time I saw him we were all so young. It wasn't the same Reno I used to know, but he had the same wild red hair pulled back into a ponytail. He wore a white dress shirt, untucked under a black jacket and black pants, typical Turk uniform, except his wasn't as polished. His eyes were the same bright aqua, though.

"Aww, look who grew up!" I grinned, remembering the times Reno had said how he wanted to be a Turk when he grew up. He never used to stick to anything, though, so I always teased him.

He winced, "Ouch, thanks." I stuck my tongue out. "At least you remember me. Do you want some clothes or something? I can ask Tifa if she has any." I guess he noticed how tightly I had the blanket wrapped around me. "She'd probably be happy to see you awake."

"Thanks Reno."

Reno grinned "Yo! S'okay, she'd come up anyways though, so I thought I'd let you think you had some control." He walked out the door, with the same cocky swagger he'd had as a kid.

"Gee, thanks." I mumbled. I had no clear memories, but I knew Tifa, and until I either moved out, or got rid of the Geostigma, she would be treating me like the little seven year-old from thirteen years ago. I was always the weaker one, so Tifa would always stand up for me.

"CELERE!!! You're awake!!!" Screamed Tifa. It was typical of her, but I still jumped ten feet in the air.

"I brought you some clothes, Reno said you wanted them." She was still just as hyper, but she calmed down pretty quickly when she took a good look at me.

"You've changed," She said, staring at my face.

"What? And you haven't?" I stated, grinning.

Tifa's face softened "That's not what I meant, but you're right. Any who, I made you some clothes. They're not very fancy, but I know you'll want to be able to fight, so, yeah. I hope you still like purple."

She tossed a lump of fabric on the bed in front of me. I stared at it. "What about my-"

"Geostigma? Don't worry; I'll help you put them on."

"Thanks, Tiffs!" I was happy to see my friend, but not exactly excited for what would happen after I had the clothes on.

"I'm gonna have to go downstairs, aren't I?" I asked, wincing as I pulled the top over my head.

"Here." Tifa pulled the fabric away from my skin and down. "Yep, they're all waiting for us. Here's a brush, do something about your hair." After handing me a brush she started doing up all the zippers. This was all done with my back to the mirror. After I was done, she told me to close my eyes and turn around.

"Shift a bit to the left, yes, that's right. Okay, you can look now!" She sounded really excited, so I opened my eyes immediately.

"Whoa! Tiffs, you _made_ this?" I was wearing a black halter top with loops on the back, and a pair of dark purple capris covered in pockets. The black belt had a sheath for a _tanto_, a double edged Japanese dagger.

"That's not all, you also have a jacket." She handed it to me, and I put it on. It was black leather, with no sleeves and a large collar that folded down, revealing my shoulders. I turned around, pretending not to see the Geostigma creeping across my back. There were two scabbards slung across each other on my back.

Tifa noticed the stare. "You didn't think I'd forget your weapons, did you?" She grinned.

"Where are they?" I asked. I never went anywhere without my two _katanas_, or my _tanto._

"Umm, you might want to fix your part first." Tifa sounded nervous, so I did what she asked. I turned to the mirror, and fixed my part, brushing my bangs to the right. Having not seen my own face in a mirror for years, I wasn't prepared for what I saw.

"My eyes… changed colour?"

"That's not all. You have cat's eyes, and the blue is the kind you see with exposure to Mako energy."

"Mako eyes?" I had the same colour eyes as those of a SOLDIER. "So that's what you meant when you said I'd changed. I have no idea how it happened…Oh well."

She grinned "You're right. Oh well. Ready to go downstairs?"

I looked at my pale, bare feet. "No shoes?"

"Whoops! My bad, here you go!" Tiffs tossed me a pair of black combat boots and socks. I zipped my feet in, then asked, "Do the scabbards come off the jacket? I'm kinda warm and my back's still raw."

"You don't need them. Those loops on your shirt can hold those things with out getting cut." She took my jacket off, being careful not to rub against my back or shoulders.

"Thanks. Now where are my blades?" I rolled my shoulders, stretching my muscles.

"They're downstairs, I had them sharpened."

"Oh, thanks, they needed it!" There was some thing else…but…

"Aren't you going to ask about Aka Tora? I didn't think you'd forget."

"Omigod! Aka Tora! Do you have her?! Agh, I knew I was forgetting something!" Aka Tora is Japanese for Bloody Tiger. She's my pride and joy, and Cid Highwind is the only person (other than me) that I trust her with. She's the only way for me to get around, and I love her like a sister. The most intricate piece of machinery I own, she's red, black and silver, outfitted with the best accessories I could find. Goes from a motorcycle to an all-terrain board, to what ever I need.

"Yep, she was pretty dusty, so I had Cid clean her." Tiffs was looking like she would explode any second now, so I sighed. "Fine, let's go."

"Yay!" She said, jumping up and down. "Don't worry; once you see them all you'll remember them!"

"Joy." _L__et's get this over with_.

"Cheer up!"

"JOY!" I said with more 'enthusiasm', my voice dripping sarcasm.

"As good as it'll get, I guess." Tifa said, rolling her eyes. "C'mon, let's go." She pulled me downstairs.


	2. Chapter 2: Friendly Fights

As soon as we got downstairs, I knew there was no reason to worry. Tifa was right, I recognized almost everyone, including Barrett. He was yelling at someone on his cell.

"I know you're there Spikey! PICK UP THE GODDAMN PHONE!!!" He roared, making me jump. I had no clue which poor sap would get their ears blown out by that message, but I wasn't about to ask. Just then, I felt someone wrap their arms around my leg, so I looked down. A little girl was looking up at me, her hair pulled back in a bow, a smile plastered all over her face. She looked at me with big eyes.

"Hi, who are you?" She asked still with a tight grip on my leg. I bent down so I could see her properly.

"I'm Celere. I'm one of Tifa's friends" I grinned and held out my hand. She took it. "Who are you?" I asked her.

"I'm Marlene, and this is Denzel. He has Geostigma just like you!" Marlene pulled an uncomfortable looking boy, about a year older than her, over. He had a patch of Geostigma the size of a cherry tomato on his forehead.

"Hi, Denzel." I said, putting my hand out again. He shook it warily. He had short brown hair, and wide eyes. He was shifting back and forth, so I let them run off.

I got up and walked over to Tifa. "Are those two staying with you, Tiffs?" I asked. They had come from upstairs.

"They're both orphans," She replied, "I hope you won't mind living with them," She said nervously.

"Oh no! It's fine, honest."

I spent the next while wandering around, letting people update me on their lives, and what they were doing now. Somewhere along the line, I was introduced to Yuffie Kasuragi, an 18-year-old ninja from Wutai. She seemed intent on finding Materia.

"Do you know if there are any good Materia merchants around here?" She asked "I'm looking for a Blizzard."

I thought "Last time I was here, there was a merchant about two blocks north," I paused, "Umm, I think he had some Blizzard ones, but I can't be sure…"

She didn't care, "Ooo, thanks, Cee." She said, running out the door, her shiruken strapped to her back.

"Cee?" I looked at Tifa.

"She makes friends fast," She said. "What can I say?"

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I winced and spun around, startled. There was Reno, grinning like a maniac. I glared at him.

"What do you want?" It really annoyed me how cocky he looked, his shoulders slouched, hands in his pockets.

"Yo, no need to get touchy!" He said still grinning, "I just wanted to know if you wanted a drink. Tseng and Elena want to catch up."

"Oh, Elena?" I picked up my swords from the bar, "Oh, and I'll just have water." He smirked, so I went over to where the rest of the Turks were sitting. I sat down next to Elena.

"Haven't seen you in a while, Celere," Said Tseng, looking me over. "You've grown"

"Yeah, well so have you, genius," I said, grinning.

Elena stayed quiet, staring at my face.

"I know, the eyes sure are something, huh? No idea how it happened…" I sat there, staring into space, not paying attention , but still hearing and retaining every bit of stuff Elena and Tseng told me. Rude kept quiet. Reno brought me back to the present when he got back to the table with our drinks.

"Maybe you should have been a waiter, Reno. You'd be good at it" I said, eliciting snickers from Tseng and Elena. I grinned.

"Hardy har. Very funny. Hilarious." He said, not impressed. "I was just thinking―"

"Gasp! You were thinking? Tell me more!"

He glared at me. "I was just thinking, why would someone like you drink water?" He put the glass down in front of me, and sat down with his beer.

"I just came out of a God-knows-how-long coma, Reno. I think I'll play it safe."

"Aww, does that mean you don't want to fight?" He pouted, "Yo, I never had you pegged as the slow and steady type, but I guess I was wrong." He grinned.

"You had me at fight!" If there was one thing I remembered, it was the amount of time me and Reno spent fighting when we were younger. We were always at it, never stopping until one of us admitted defeat. We were pretty evenly matched, so the fights could last a while.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait, get your strength back?" He asked, feigning concern.

"Oh, shut up, Flame Boy." I drained the last of my water, got up, and walked towards the door. "Let's fight on the roof, we won't hurt anyone up there."

"Loser has to buy the winner unlimited drinks for the night, or until their money runs out." Reno smirked.

"Just get up here, you pompous idiot." I was already on the roof, stretching, and getting warmed up.

"Yo, did you just say _pompous_?" He asked looking at me incredulously.

"Okay, only one rule," I said ignoring him. "The game ends when one of us disarms the other."

"Seems fair, but no major injuries, okay?"

"Fine," I pouted. I got into position. "Let's go!"

It was fun. Reno managed to force one of my katanas out of my hand, but when he tried to swipe the other one, I back-flipped away from him, grabbing the one on the ground with my feet before landing gracefully. I stuck out my tongue.

Having only been shocked once, dodging his attacks was getting boring. I leaped over his surprised head and lunged forward; straight-out tackling him and sendng his taser flying.

"HA! I win!" I said, getting up and giving a thumbs-up to Tifa and Elena, who, along with everyone else in the bar, had come out to watch.

"Damn! Yo, you've gotten better!" He accused. I flashed him a smile.

"Aw, don't look so sad. I'll call a y'owe me, so you can save up the money to buy me those drinks." I smirked.

"What? Are you saying I don't have any money? Yo! I've got tons of ca― Hey! Where's my wallet?" Reno searched frantically through his pockets, while I doubled over with laughter. "Wow, you are blind, Reno." I said, waving his wallet under his nose.

"Give that back!" He lunged, but I side-stepped and tripped him.

"Ah, too easy! I swiped it before we even started!" I started going through it, but there was nothing to go through. It was completely empty.

"I thought you said―"

"That I had lots of cash? I do but I knew you'd pull something like this, yo, so I took it out."

"Fine, I guess - Oh!" I fell, the Geostigma on my wrists and back going to work. I was on my knees gasping for air, the pain was so intense. Then I started getting flashes; old memories, maybe. A guy, my age, with white hair like mine, and eyes like a cat's. A fuzzy image of Mako containment units.

"Gah!" I gasped, wobbling a bit on the edge of the roof. Reno grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Yo, umm, maybe we shouldn't have fought, seeing as you almost fell off the roof and all."

"Are you kidding?" I was totally recovered. I winced. Okay, maybe not totally. "That was awesome! Wait, who's that?" I pointed towards a guy dressed in a red tattered cape, with black hair. There was just something…

"Huh? Oh, that's Vincent Valentine, one of Shin-Ra's many experiments." Reno looked around "Hey, do you still have my wallet?"

"Yeah, but seeing as you tricked me, I think I'll keep it." I smirked. "And there's nothing you can do about it!" I did a back flip off the roof, landing nimbly on the ground. Reno landed right in front of me, making me jump back.

"Give it."

"I'll fight you for it!" I said, knowing he was way too tired.

"Yo, you're a freak, you know that?" He shook his head.

"Who are you calling a freak, Flame Head?" was my genius retort, and I immediately regretted it.

"Ooo, why you…" he lunged at me, but I dodged it, running away, laughing my head off. Unfortunately, I had run into a dead-end. I backed away along the wall, keeping my focus on Reno.

"Wow, you cornered yourself, I'm impressed. You never used to be that scatterbrained." He smirked. That's when my back hit the wall. I looked around, searching for an escape. Then I saw her. Aka Tora was parked in a little alcove, in beside the back door to Tifa's bar.

Reno followed my stare. "Oh, no you don't!" But I had already reached her. I punched a button, hoping it was the right one. Luck was with me, and she started to shift. Reno made a grab for me, but I jumped onto the newly formed hover board and zoomed up the wall.

"Okay, that's not fair!" He yelled from the ground.

"Too bad!" I yelled back. I turned away from the edge, looking out over what was left of Midgar. Bad idea. Reno attacked from behind while I wasn't paying attention. He landed on my back, pinning me down.

"Now. Can I have my wallet back?"

"Fine, just get off me!" His weight on my back was really aggravating my Geostigma. I tossed him his wallet and he got up, catching it and putting it back in his pocket.

"Yo, next time, pay attention, it might do you some good." He smirked as I got up and dusted myself off. I grimaced as my hands and stray pieces of gravel made contact with the Geostigma on my wrists.

"Maybe we should go back and get you bandaged up." He said, seriously.

"Fine, but not my back." I argued. I picked up Aka Tora, and put her under my arm.

"I'll carry that, and yes, your back" I reluctantly gave him the board, then jumped off the building to the ground. We bickered the whole way back, until I left him to put Aka Tora away. I went inside.

"Hey Tiffs, do you think you could bandage my wrists?"

"And her back," Reno added as he walked in.

"NO! My back is fine." Reno came over to where I was standing.

"Oh really?" He said, seeing through me. "Then this won't bother you." He put his hand between my shoulder blades. A hiss escaped my lips as I fought back the pain, and the heat creeping up my cheeks. My vision blurred slightly.

"I knew it. Yo, Tifa, make sure she's completely bandaged up."

"I can fight you off," I warned her.

"Yo, if you put up any kind of fight, I will do it myself, Celere." Reno threatened. I glared at him, but let Tifa pull me upstairs.

When I came back down, I was still pissed, so I tried to avoid Reno. In my quest of avoidance, I noticed a familiar head of spiky blonde hair. I walked over.

"Chocobo Head?" I asked.

Cloud Strife turned around, "Celery?" he asked.


End file.
